It's safe to say that the best basketball players in the world play in the NBA. However, there were special cases when a great basketball player that could've played in the NBA, opted not to. Let's take a look at the 10 greatest international players who never played in the NBA.
1. Oscar Schmidt (Brazil)
As the all-time scoring leader at the Olympics and FIBA World Cup, it's safe to say that Oscar Schmidt is the greatest basketball player to never play in the NBA. Although he was drafted in the 1984 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets in the sixth round with the 131st-overall pick, the NBA world missed out on the gifted Brazilian scorer.
Schmidt chose not to play in Brazil, as joining the NBA would have prevented him from representing Brazil internationally. Schmidt would lead Brazil to podium finishes in several international tourneys, highlighted by a bronze medal at the 1978 FIBA World Cup.
2. Dejan Bodiroga (Serbia)
Known as one of the greatest EuroLeague stars of all time, Dejan Bodiroga had the chops to make it to the NBA. Bodriga is a three-time EuroLeague champion. He is also an established star on the international arena, having helped Serbia claim silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Unfortunately, the NBA was never considered by the Serbian sensation.
Bodriga was actually drafted in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings in the second round with the 51st-overall pick. There's no doubt that Bodiroga possessed a polished ball-handling skillset, especially for a European player during his time. However, the Olympic silver medalist just wasn't keen on playing for the Kings, who were far from contenders during that time.
3. Drazen Dalipagic (Yugoslavia)
Another European star that could've thrived in the NBA was Drazen Dalipagic. In fact, Dalipagic was even supposed to be the first European to ever step foot in the NBA. He led Yugoslavia to three Olympic medals, capped off by a gold medal in 1980. As an Olympian, Dalipagic also tallied 17.8 points per game to lead Yugoslavia in scoring.
Although he went undrafted in the NBA, Dalipagic was initially supposed to join the Boston Celtics after a strong showing at the 1976 Summer Games. Unfortunately, like Schmidt, Dalipagic wasn't keen on giving up his place in the Yugoslavian national team for the NBA.
4. Dragan Kicanovic (Yugoslavia)
Speaking of Yugoslavia, another player who had the chops to play in the NBA was Dragan Kicanovic. Kicanovic was another elite player who helped Yugoslavia reach new heights. Like Dalipagic, Kicanovic was also a national team mainstay.
In fact, he also teamed up with Dalipagic at Partizan Belgrade. Aside from winning gold and silver with Yugoslavia, Kicanovic was also the FIBA World Cup MVP. Given Kicanovic's impact in Europe, there's no doubt that he was another star that the NBA missed.
5. Kresimir Cosic (Yugoslavia)
While Dirk Nowitzki was often regarded as the man who revolutionized the stretch five in the NBA, before him there was Kresimir Cosic. Cosic was another Yugoslavian player that played unorthodox basketball for a big. With the tendency to play in the perimeter, Cosic would've ushered the era of stretch bigs sooner had he played in the NBA.
Furthermore, Cosic also had a high IQ to facilitate the offense, as per Sportskeeda. But instead, Cosic took his talents to Europe and also represented Yugoslavia internationally en route to two silver Olympic medals and a gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Cosic was quite close to playing in the NBA. In fact, he even played college basketball for BYU. Shortly after, the Portland Trail Blazers drafted him in the 10th round of the 1972 NBA Draft with the 144th-overall pick.
A year later, the Los Angeles Lakers also selected Cosic in the fifth round with the 84th-overall pick. However, Cosic just couldn't give up playing for the Yugoslavian national team.
6. Radivoj Korać (Yugoslavia)
Radivoj Korać is another Yugoslavian national team star who made waves in Europe. Aside from becoming the EuroBasket MVP and collecting a silver at the 1968 Olympics, Korać also holds the record for the most points in a single EuroLeague game with 99 points. There's no doubt that Korać was another European sensation that could've altered the course of NBA history.
7. Nikos Galis (Greece)
If you're a player who could drop 50 points on Michael Jordan, then you certainly deserve to play in the NBA. In fact, that's what Nikos Galis did in an exhibition match against Michael Jordan and the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Galis actually impressed enough for the Boston Celtics to draft him in the 1979 NBA Draft with the 68th-overall pick in the fourth round. However, an ankle injury forced the Celtics to cut him off the roster. While Galis did get NBA offers later on, the Greek star opted to stay put in Europe to represent Greece in FIBA competitions.
Galis went on to lead the EuroLeague in scoring five times. Furthermore, he helped Greece capture a gold and silver at the EuroBasket in 1987 and 1989, respectively.
8. Sergio Llull (Spain)
Sergio Llull continued to show everyone at the 2024 Paris Olympics that he was one of the greatest “what-ifs” in the NBA. The Spanish national team mainstay was actually drafted into the league in 2009. He was selected by the Nuggets with the 34th overall pick before the Rockets bought his draft rights for a record-breaking $2.25 million.
However, despite the Rockets’ persistence, Llull decided to stay put in Spain in order to win more titles. Llull already has two Euroleague titles, seven Liga ACB championships, and Euroleague MVP.
In addition to this, Llull also represented Spain well in FIBA tournaments, collecting a silver and bronze at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, respectively. He also own the FIBA World Cup title with Spain in 2019.
9. Dimitris Diamantidis (Greece)
Like Llull, Dimitris Diamantidis carved out a decorated basketball career in Europe. However, NBA scouts missed out on drafting him in the 2002 NBA Draft. Although NBA teams tried to sign Diamantidis later on, his then-head coach Kostas Pilafidis revealed to the public that the EuroLeague star chose to stay put in Europe.
With Diamantidis’ unselfish all-around play, he has won almost every hardware in European basketball, including three Euroleague championships, MVP, six-time Best Defender, nine Greek League titles and many more.
But more importantly, Diamantidis was part of the Greek squad that captured silver at the 2006 FIBA World Cup, where they also defeated a stacked Team USA squad in the semifinals.
10. Shin Dong-pa (South Korea)
Although South Korea has long been struggling at the international basketball stage, Shin Dong-pa was a world-class walking bucket back in the day. Who can forget the time when Shin led all scorers at the 1970 FIBA World Championship, averaging 32.6 points per outing. Moreover, he also suited up for the Korean national team at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympic Games.
Regarded as one of the greatest Asian basketball players of all time, there's no question that Shin Dong-pa would've thrived in the NBA with his ability to score from anywhere on the court like he had limitless range.
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